Vault Number 13
by A Random Bean
Summary: When it is Egon's turn to decide what to do on their day off, he chooses the library. Getting bored, Peter and Winston search for the Grey Lady, only to find more than they bargained for when they become trapped in a forgotten passage with a powerful artifact. Peter thinks of an unconventional way to be found, but will it lead to rescue or the destruction of all things living?


It was the Ghostbusters' day off. They took turns deciding what to do and it was Egon's turn. It was the perfect day to do something. It was sunny, clear and neither too warm nor too cold.

"What are we doing this week?" Ray asked.

"I think..." Egon said slowly, trying to decide, "that I want to go... to the library."

"It's our day off and you want to read?" Peter asked.

"No one complained last week went you wanted to hunt ghosts in the park which isn't really a day off at all," Winston pointed out.

So, they went to the library. Egon and Ray found interesting books right away, but Peter and Winston found nothing that caught their interest.

"Let's go look in the fiction section," Winston suggested.

"I have a better idea!" Peter said, then scowled when a librarian shushed him. "Let's go look for the Grey Lady," he added quietly.

"I don't know... It sounds like she doesn't want to be found."

"You're not afraid of a ghost, are you?"

"The way Ray tells it, even the three of you were!"

"It was the first one that we saw and we didn't acually believe ghosts are real then. Of course we were... surprised. But we know they're real now. She has nothing on us this time. And she can't be worse than Gozer."

"That's a relief knowing that she can't be worse. Maybe equivalent, but not worse..."

Peter started to walk away and Winston hurried to catch up.

"Scared to be left alone?" Peter teased.

"No! It's just... boring and I thought that I might join you after all."

They looked all over for the Grey Lady, but didn't see her or any other ghost. Peter sat at a table, completely bored. Winston picked an old comic book that he had liked as a kid and sat down to read it. He laughed at something.

"How can you still find those things funny?" Peter asked.

"This was one of my favorite ones as a child," Winston explained. "It's about two bumbling villians who can never get anything right. This one is called 'Sticky Fingers and Clyde and Vault Number Thirteen.' See? They tried to rob a bank and locked themselves in the vault by mistake. They went in and let the door shut behind them."

Peter looked at it, but was obviously disinterested.

"No idiot would really be that stupid," he decided.

Winston read in silence, ignoring Peter's sighs of boredom. Suddenly, Peter jumped up, making Winston start.

"Did you see that?!" Peter asked, getting sushed again.

"See what?" Winston asked.

"A ghost! Come on!"

Winston followed Peter in the direction that the ghost had gone. Peter stopped and looked around, then saw it again and chased after it.

"It went through the wall..." Peter said, disappointed. "Back to boredom." He looked at his watch. "Three more hours of it..."

"Maybe we can still find it."

"How?"

"There has to be a way around the wall."

"You're still bored, too?"

"Yeah, a bit."

They looked around and found a door marked 'employees only.' They ignored the sign and went in.

It turned out to be a storage area. Winston found some banned books there and became interested in that while Peter checked to see if the ghost was hiding in anything.

"Come here," Peter said after a moment. "Do you feel a draft?"

Winston went to check and agreed that there was a draft. They searched for where it was coming from. He moved a shelf that seemed to have been in one place for years and revealed a tunnel.

"I wonder where that goes!" Winston said.

"Let me know when you find out," Peter replied.

"You're not curious?"

"Of course I am! Just not enough to crawl in there..."

"Scared there might be a ghost inside?"

"No!"

"Then let's check it out!"

"I'd rather not..."

"Would you rather be bored?"

"Yes, actually I would..."

"Why?"

"Because... I don't like things like that... I got stuck in something as a kid..."

"I'll see what's in there and tell you about it."

Winston crawled into the tunnel.

"It's short and opens into a room," he called. "There's some interesting stuff in here..."

"Any ghosts?"

"Yeah, I think I see something."

Peter looked into the tunnel. When he realized that it only passed under the wall and into a sealed room, he crawled through it.

It looked like it had once been another storage area, but had been closed off for a long time.

"The staff probably don't even remember it!" Winston said, looking at an old collection of books.

Peter found a set of books on the supernatural. He randomly chose one and opened it. The room seemed to get a bit colder.

"Property of Elenor..." he read. The last name was too smudged. "The Grey Lady was named Elenor, I think..."

"It could be a coincidence. She isn't the only lady named Elenor."

Peter opened the book to a random page.

"Latin!" he said, frustrated.

"I know some Latin."

Winston took the book and tried to read some. He gave it back slowly.

"I think it's one of those things better left alone," he said.

"What was it?"

"You can't make me say it!"

"Fine..."

Peter left, but Winston didn't care if he was offended. There was no way he was going to say what he had read. But Peter hadn't left because he had been offended as Winston saw when he returned with a translating dictionary.

"The library is good for something after all," Peter muttered.

"You're not going to like it..."

It didn't take long for Peter to work out what it was.

"It's to summon Gozer!"

"I know."

"You could have said that!"

"I didn't want to..."

"Did you finish reading the spell?"

"No, did you?"

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean 'not exactly?!'"

"I memorized it to translate it, but I didn't exactly read it since I didn't understand it."

"Just... put it back, will you?"

Peter did as he was asked and they continued to look around. There was a heavy door on one wall and it took both of them to open it.

There was no power on the other side of the door and the walls were lined with lit torches although it was obvious by the layer of dust on the floor that no one had been there for decades if not centuries.

"I wonder who keeps those torches lit...?" Peter said.

"You probably wouldn't like the answer... After you."

Peter cautiously stepped through the doorway. The dust covering the stone floor muffled his footsteps. Winston followed him.

"Whatever you do, don't let the door shut behind you," Peter said quietly.

"That door is too heavy to close on its own."

They proceeded down the corridor cautiously. They were the first people to see the place in a very long time. Or at least the first living people to.

Just as they reached the end of the corridor, which opened into a large room lit by torches, there was a sudden and unseasonably cold breeze. And the sound of a heavy door closing.

They rushed back to the other end of the corridor, hoping that it was anything else, but it was just what they thought it was.

They pushed, pulled, kicked and knocked on the door, but it was either stuck or locked and there was no one around to hear them.

"I'm going to kill you, Zeddemore!" Peter exclaimed. He usually only used the last names of people he was on first name basis with when very angry.

Winston laughed. "It's like the comic book, isn't it?"

"I take back what I said earlier. Apparently some idiots are stupid enough! Why didn't you block the door before following?!"

"Sorry, boss."

"What?"

"It reminds me of Sticky Fingers and Clyde."

"Was there anything useful in there like how they got out?"

"The police came and arrested them just like they do every week."

"Come on. Let's see if there is another way out."

"Coming, boss."

"If you call me that one more time..."

"Sorry, Sticky Fingers..."

"Zeddemore!"

"Yes, sir."

Peter wasn't sure if that was another Sticky Fingers and Clyde reference or respect because he had been a Ghostbuster longer. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew which it was, but let it pass for the moment.

They returned to the room at the other end of the corridor. There was another corridor at the other side of the room, hopefully with another way out. Bookshelves lined the walls and it looked like it had once been a main part of the library. Peter decided that it was strange how much more interesting libraries were after they had been forgotten for a century.

"Look at this!" Winston said.

"If it's anything to do with the stupid comic book, then you're fired."

"It isn't. Look!"

Peter looked at what Winston was pointing at. There was a large bloodstain on the floor.

"It must have been where the Grey Lady was killed!"

"She must be close by..."

"It would be nice if we weren't stuck down here without our proton packs..."

Peter led the way down the other corridor. It led into a smaller room, also lined with shelves. In the middle of the room was a lake of black slime. In the slime was a boulder and on the boulder was a bookstand which held a book.

"I thought slime was green," Winston said.

"The harmless, funky kind is. This is the dangerous, funky kind. It burns like acid, so don't touch it."

"I wonder what that book is..."

"I know what it isn't and that's a way out. Keep looking!"

But there were no other doors or passages.

"I guess we have to wait for rescue like Stick..." Winston said.

"Don't say it! And how are we going to be rescued if no one knows that this place exists anymore?!"

"Someone will notice eventually that the shelf was moved."

"But will they think to open the door? And that could be a long time from now. Did you consider that it is Saturday and the library closes in a half hour? We'll be stuck until at least Monday with no food or water."

"Good thing I have this," Winston said, sitting under a torch and opening the comic book.

Peter started to say something about it, then sighed and tried to move the shelves to see if there were any hidden passages. But the shelves did not move and he eventually gave up.

"Don't you think that looks important?" Winston asked, pointing to the book on the stand.

"Unless it tells us how to get out of here, then it couldn't be important. And it's too dangerous to try to get to it!"

"Aren't you curious?"

"The last time you said that got us stuck in here!"

"But it just feels important somehow."

"I'll never hear the end of it if I don't go look, will I?"

Winston smiled. "Probably not."

"Fine..."

Peter walked to the edge of the pool of slime. He guessed the distance and jumped, landing on the boulder. He was about to reach for the book when Winston jumped across, landing on the edge. Unbalanced, he grabbed Peter to try to steady himself and they both fell in.

They quickly waded out and hurried to the bookcases, pulling pages out of books to use as paper towels. There was a ghostly wailing as they did so.

"I think someone doesn't like us mistreating the books!" Winston said.

"It can't be helped! We have to get it off!"

At last, the burning slime was off, or at least as much as was going to come off.

"I expected it to be worse," Winston said.

"It would have been if we hadn't cleaned it off right away."

"About the book..."

"Forget it, Zeddemore!" Peter snapped, twisting around to try to get some slime off of his back that was just out of reach.

"Have you considered that a ghost sealed the door?" Winston asked, grabbing a page and wiping the slime off.

"Now you sound like Egon..."

"And he's usually right."

"I guess it's another thing to think about. But it does no good! We don't have our equipment to catch the ghost."

"Maybe if we do what they want, then they'll open the door again."

"And what would that be?"

"Read that book!"

"Fine... I'll try again. But stay here this time!"

Peter jumped to the boulder again and almost slid off with his slimy shoes, but managed to regain his balance and look at the book.

"It's blank!" he said, looking back at Winston.

Something strongly compelled him to look at the blank page again. He turned to look at it. The words that he had memorized to translate earlier came to mind and he began to say them. He tried to resist, but seemed to have no control over it. Each word that he said appeared on the page. A glob of burning slime landed on his neck, breaking his concentration. He wiped it off and turned to look.

"Sorry, but I had to!" Winston said. "You were trying to summon Gozer!"

He looked down. Only three words remained to summon him. Peter returned to Winston.

"I couldn't help it! It was like something was in my head, making me do it."

"You're going crazy, just like Sticky Fingers did..."

"Shut up..."

Winston smirked.

"It's late," Peter said after a moment. "And since there's nothing to eat, then we should try to sleep."

In the night, Winston noticed that Peter was not in the corner that he had chosen for himself. With a feeling of dread, he went to check on the book. Peter had just gotten there and said the next two words before Winston could stop him.

"We'll have to take turns sleeping," Winston decided. "We can't let our guard down! There is only one word left and marshmallow butt returns!"

But that was easier said than done. Moments slowly became hours and hours slowly became days. They knew that they wouldn't survive much longer if they weren't rescued soon.

"How long has it been?" Winston asked.

"Two days and five hours."

"How long do people survive without water?"

"Three days, I think."

"They must be looking for us."

"By the time they think to look here, it will be too late."

"Did you have any family?"

"No, not really. I haven't seen my parents in years."

"Why not?"

"They didn't agree with... some choices I made in life."

Winston laughed. "You have a tattoo or something?"

Peter laughed, too. "No, nothing like that. They never approved of my career choice. They didn't understand why I wanted to be a psychiatrist."

"I would think most parents would be proud."

"It seems like it, but my mother never liked shrinks... And they thought that ghost hunting was ridiculous. When they realized that it wasn't, they didn't want me to bring any 'evil spirits' around. They told me to get a legitimate job again. They really should make up their minds..."

"My sister was always supportive of my choices. I wish I could have had a chance to see her again."

They sat in silence after that, trying to come up with a plan before it was too late.

"I wish life was like a movie," Winston said after a long while. "Someone would come rescue us at the last moment, the good side always wins and it's a happy ending."

"Wait, that gives me an idea! You probably won't like it, but..."

"What is it?"

"What if I finish summoning Gozer and..."

"Now wait a minute! I said the good side wins and there's a happy ending!"

"But this isn't a movie and there will be no happy ending for anyone except Walter Peck and the manager of the Sedgewick Hotel if we don't do something!"

"You're right. If our death gives them satisfaction, then I won't go!"

"If I summon Gozer, then Ray and Egon will trace the source of the disturbance which will lead them right to us!"

"It sounds like a plan... Whether or not it's a good plan, I don't know..."

Peter went to the book and slowly began to realize something.

"I forgot the last word!"

"Try to remember!"

He said every word that he thought it could possibly be, but nothing worked.

"It's no use... It's gone..."

"Wait... I think I remember it... I'm coming over there."

He landed properly this time and turned to face the book, guessing the word after a couple of tries. The word appeared, but nothing happened.

"Try reading it through," Peter suggested.

Winston read it. As he said the last word, a rumbling could be heard somewhere above them.

"I hope this works," Winston said.

"If it doesn't, then at least the rest of the world goes with us!"

"I'm not sure if that's funny or not..."

"What? Sticky Fingers wouldn't think the same way?"

But several hours passed. Sounds could be heard above, but no one came.

"Did you see that?" Winston asked at last.

"See what?"

"A flashlight beam, I think."

"I saw something..."

"We're definitely getting closer," Egon's voice said. "This had to be where it originated."

Ray shined the flashlight around the room. It swept over Winston and Peter, then quickly returned. They blinked in the sudden light.

"Did you find it?" Egon asked, not looking up from the P.K.E. meter.

"No, but I found something else that we had lost..."

Back at the firehouse, Peter and Winston explained what had happened over dinner after nice, warm showers and a good shave.

"You summoned Gozer?!" Ray asked, incredulous.

"Speed if you want to find a cop and summon a malevolent deity if you want to find the Ghostbusters," Winston joked.

"You have been quiet," Egon told Peter.

"I was thinking about the Grey Lady. We didn't see her, but she didn't like it when we were tearing up the books. I think we can bring her out that way and finally catch her."

"We'll have to do that eventually, but the library is being renovated."

"We might never have been found!" Winston said.

"Actually, it was Gozer who was overseeing the renovation."

"Did you defeat him again?" Peter asked.

"For now," Ray said. "But it never seems to be good enough..."

After dinner, the Ghostbusters went upstairs to their bunks. Ray turned out the lights.

"It's nice to have our own beds back, isn't it, Winston?" Peter asked.

"It certainly is! Good night, Sticky Fingers."

"Good night, Clyde."

 **Note: This is my first post and constructive criticism is welcome.**


End file.
